348 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE,

of questions sent to all but the publicists, lawyers, etc., a question as
to the amount of business done by the particular individual or concern
 reporting. The only purpose in seeking this information is
stated above, and in all instances it has been the purpose of the Commission
 not to disclose individual operations. In the fuller discussion
of the several schedule questions which follows this section, the relative
 size of the company reporting is frequently referred to in order
to give additional significance to the opinions or facts reported.
Usually this has been indicated by the prefacing remark that “a
large manufacturer ” or “an important concern ” in this or that industry
 says this or that.
There Follows a tabulation of replies of manufacturers, exporters,
and domestic merchants, grouped according to the amount of total
gross sales, of exports, and of domestic sales, respectively. It was
believed that the relative size and importance of the manufacturer
 or merchant would be best shown by the amount of their total
gross sales and domestic sales, respectively, rather than by the
amount of their export sales. In the case of the export commission
houses and others in this class, however, the amount of their export
sales was considered the best criterion of their importance. Approximately
 72 per cent of those replying exported less than $1,000.000
worth of products.

Replies of manufacturers, exporters, and domestic merchants grouped according to amount
of total gross sales, exports, and domestic sales. respectively.

fanufacturers... Cee
SXPOTterS.. .ocvenecanane
Yomestic merchants. ....

Total.

qr
103
AR

Over
~E 000.000

$5,000,000 "1,000,000
Coto, te

$250,000
» 38

Less than] Not
2950.000. answered

142
26
18

An examination of the replies to the third inquiry on the manufacturers’
 schedule discloses the fact that 14 of the concerns, whose total
gross sales amounted to over $25,000,000, thought that some form of
combination or cooperative selling agency for export trade would be
an advantage to them, 2 thought not, and 7 were noncommittal
or did not reply; 42 of those having sales of between five and twentyfive
 million believed such organizations would be advantageous and
4 thought not; and 157 of those whose exports amounted to more than
$1,000,000 but less than $5,000,000 believed they would operate to
their advantage and 17 thought not. Manufacturers to the number
of 710, exporting less than $1,000,000 worth, said that export organizations
 would operate to their advantage, and 62 that they would
operate to their disadvantage. (For tabular and fuller treatment
of this question, see pp. 343 and 344.)
On question 5 of the manufacturers’ schedule and 2 of the exporters’
and domestic merchants’ schedules, as to whether cooperative export
organizations should be made up of competing or noncompeting concerns,
 40 of those whose total gross sales, exports or domestic sales,
according to whether they are manufacturers, exporters, or domestic
merchants, amounted to more than $1,000,000, indicated that in their